It's a statistical certainty that Apple will unveil a new smartwatch this September, as it's done every year since 2014. But hopes have never been lower for significant changes to the Apple Watch Series 9.
Well-connected sources have alleged that there are no big hardware changes planned to any of Apple's three smartwatch models, so all eyes will be on watchOS 10, which should be unveiled this June.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
ETA: August 2023
The Galaxy Watch 5 was a modest upgrade, albeit with the addition of the excellent Watch 5 Pro to the range.
We're hoping for a bigger update this time, with the battery life gains of the last generation filtering to the standard Galaxy Watch 6.
The launch could also be timed with Wear OS 4, so this will be an interesting launch, likely this July.
Garmin Venu 3
ETA: TBC
The Garmin Venu 3 looks odds on for a release this year – and finally could be an excellent Apple Watch rival.
Garmin has launched an ECG feature on the Venu 2 Plus, so it will be a better health watch. We'd like to see the Venu 3 given an extra shot of fitness and wellness metrics, and this could be a big release for 2023.
Confirmed smartwatch releases
Huawei Watch Ultimate
ETA: April 2023
Wareable
The Huawei Watch Ultimate is a luxury flagship smartwatch, which guns for the Apple Watch Ultra. With a 'liquid metal' case, ceramic bezel, and a focus on diving and hiking, it's big on style and quality – and it's certainly striking.
It apes a classic oversized classic watch more – similar to what we've seen from Tag Heuer and Montblanc – but has better tracking credentials. A breakdown of the key features is as follows:
• Diving: 10ATM water resistance and EN13319 rated, suitable for 110m dives • Health: ECG and arterial stiffness data • Workouts: Five-band GNSS • Trekking: Expedition mode with back-to-start • Screen: 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED screen, the largest on a smartwatch. • Battery: 530mAh battery capacity with quoted 14-day battery
Under the hood is a Harmony 3 smartwatch, which delivers all of the great fitness and smartwatch features we've seen from Huawei.
However, it still lacks wrist-based payments and a proper app store. And Huawei is tight-lipped on price for now, so it seems it will be expensive.
Amazfit has priced the $399/£429 T-Rex Pro aggressively compared to the Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin Epix – and it certainly takes aim at these two watches.
Huge, oversized, and slightly dated-looking, it’s unashamedly massive.
The T-Rex Ultra packs in a 316L stainless steel case with military-grade toughness, and a 1,000-nit AMOLED display.
But really, under the hood, there are modest improvements over the T-Rex 2.
Mapping has been improved and uploaded GPX-guided routes are now available with downloadable offline maps.
And like Garmin SatIQ, the dual-band GPS will intelligently switch modes to save battery. That means it won’t struggle to find the more accurate (but power-intensive) L5 satellite signal when it’s not available.
On battery life, it will last 20 days in smartwatch mode, and a new mode will offer 80 hours of endurance tracking – which will reduce the GPS sampling for long-distance hikes and expeditions.
TicWatch Pro 5
ETA: TBC
Mobvoi
A halfway house between confirmed and TBC – Mobvoi and have teased the existence of a new smartwatch running on the updated W5+ platform. The odds are this is a new TicWatch Pro 5.
It would be the first to run Snapdragon W5+, so it would be something of a landmark device.
The TicWatch Pro 3 (the previous generation) managed to deliver excellent battery life and top performance – but is yet to receive the promised Wear OS 3 update.
So all eyes are on the Pro 5, to see how the improvements to Wear OS and the efficiencies of Snapdragon W5+ combine in terms of performance, usability and battery life.
Read our full TicWatch Pro 5 story - this one should be landing imminently.
Garmin Forerunner 265 / Forerunner 965
ETA: On sale now (review in progress)
Wareable
After plenty of speculation, Garmin has gone ahead with the semi-unexpected launch of the AMOLED-packing Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 965.
The software changes are minimal, with both models very similar to the Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 that arrived last May, but the designs have been revamped to accommodate those new displays.
Gone are the transflective memory-in-pixel displays of old, replaced by the same AMOLED tech and fancier UI present in the Venu 2 series, Epix 2 and Marq 2.
There are other tweaks that we've highlighted in our full Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 965 comparison, including slight bumps in price compared to the last generation, but, otherwise, stay tuned for our full reviews over the coming weeks.
It's been a couple of years since we've seen a proper Casio smartwatch announced - and the just-announced G-Shock GBD-H2000 lands with pretty exciting features powered by Polar.
The Finnish sports company has begun licensing out its algorithms, and Casio happens to be the first partner.
The GBD-H2000 will borrow tech from Polar in order to produce advanced sleep features, heart rate zones, breathing exercises, running-specific feedback and training load insights.
Essentially, then, this will be a Polar sports watch in a classic G-Shock body, which, at least on paper, sounds like a lethal combination.
We're currently putting this one through its paces, and will be posting our verdict over the coming weeks.
Citizen CZ Smart (2nd Gen)
ETA: March 2023
Citizen
Announced at CES 2023, the Citizen CZ Smart is a follow-up to the original that launched in back 2020.
Citizen will be hoping for more cut-through with this Wear OS 3 smartwatch, which comes with some very leftfield features.
It features a “self-care advisor” that uses IBM Watson-powered AI learning to establish patterns of fatigue and alertness. It does this via a consumer version of NASA’s Psychomotor Vigilance Task Test, which it developed to test the awareness levels of astronauts.
There are a bunch of colorways and designs, including 41mm Casual and 44mm Sport versions, so everyone is well catered for.
It will launch in March, but there’s no price as yet.
Diesel Griffed Gen 6
ETA: On sale now (review in progress)
Diesel
Fossil Group has been moving all its brands to Wear 3 – and the new Diesel Griffed Gen 6 smartwatch runs the updated OS out of the box.
It features a classic bold Diesel design, with some seriously bold straps – and under the hood is a classic Gen 6 line-up of sensors and features.
Like the rest of the Fossil Wear OS 3 field, it runs on a Snapdragon 4100+ processor, and it even has Alexa on board, too.
Diesel has added fast charging, which will juice the Griffed up to 80% in just 30 mins.
Elsewhere, there’s a SpO2 sensor, GPS, heart rate monitor, and Google Wallet on board.
However, it’s only 3ATM water resistant, so keep it away from the shower or pool.
The Diesel Griffed Gen 6 will cost $350/£329 and our review is underway.
Nowatch
ETA: On sale now
Nowatch
The Nowatch is an innovative take on the traditional smartwatch. Unlike other devices in its class, it doesn't have a screen, but still maintains the appearance of a smartwatch.
It was a successful crowdfunding project in 2022, and at CES 2023, the company announced that it was now on general sale.
Instead of a display, it features an interchangeable plate, which is made of either gemstone or metal.
Nowatch aims to promote mindfulness and awareness by providing occasional haptic reminders for you to stay in the moment.
And despite its lack of a screen, the Nowatch still possesses a robust set of biometric tracking features, including a sensor for measuring electrodermal activity (EDA) to monitor stress levels. Users can view all of this data in the accompanying Nowatch app.
Xiaomi Watch S2
ETA: On sale in China
Xiaomi
The Xiaomi Watch S2 has already landed in China, and given the previous generation made it to Western shores, there’s a good chance this one will too.
It comes in 42mm and 46mm case sizes, so it should be fairly unisex. There’s no digital crown, but there are two buttons on the right-hand side of the case.
While the feature sheet is pretty standard for a mid-range smartwatch, there is a new health sensor onboard. The Xiaomi Watch S2 will feature a body composition sensor, which will assess your fat, water and muscle percentages.
The 42mm starts at CNY 999 (around $143) and the 46mm is CNY 1,099 ($157).
Asus VivoWatch 5 Aero
ETA: On sale in China
Asus
Asus has announced the arrival of the VivoWatch 5 Aero in China, which has an unusual gesture.
It places a fingertip heart rate sensor underneath the display and which will take ECG and PPG readings.
It appears to work similarly to features like Garmin's Health Snapshot, in which all of the device's key health tracking metrics are taken within a short period and then delivered in a more condensed, digestible form.
Redmi Watch 3
ETA: On sale in China
Redmi
We gave the Redmi Watch Lite a glowing review on Wareable, so we’re keeping tabs on the progress of the new Watch 3 with interest.
The Xiaomi sub-brand has refined the design, with a 1.75-inch AMOLED display and an aluminum case. That’s pretty high-end for a smartwatch that could go on sale for around $70.
There’s a heart rate monitor with SpO2, of course, and there’s built-in GPS, to record outdoor workouts.
The company promises 12 days of battery life while using the SpO2 sensor and there’s an always-on display option, although that will deplete battery life further.
The major new additions are ECG functionality, which you might remember was launched on the GT 3 Pro watch earlier this year.
The company has also launched turn-by-turn navigation via Baidu Maps and AutoNavi Maps on the HarmonyOS 3 platform.
Elsewhere, things are pretty familiar to the previous generation. The new version boasts a singular case option, which is 48mm, though there are both 'Fashion' and 'Premium' versions. Both feature a 1.43-inch AMOLED touchscreen, with a top-notch 466 x 466 pixels resolution and a 22mm strap.
There are still no details regarding overseas availability, but there is a CNY 2,999 price tag that translates to a beefy $443 / £350. Don’t forget that Huawei is dealing with a trade ban in the US, though, so there's no chance of it landing there.
Oppo Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro
ETA: Available in China (awaiting global launch)
Wareable
This pair was confirmed in China back in August, and are the first smartwatches to feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip.
This enables devices to take advantage of Qualcomm’s co-processor for improved performance and battery life.
Pre-announcement rumors of a big screen-to-body ratio were spot on for the Pro model, with the standard Watch 3 featuring a 1.75-inch, 372 x 430 AMOLED touchscreen, as well as waterproofing up to 50 meters.
As ever, we're guessing there will be a wait for a global launch, but you can read all the details of both devices in our full Oppo Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro breakdown. We'll update this section on the wider rollout when we know more.
Movano Evie
ETA: 2023
Wareable
Not a smartwatch at all, but the Movano Evie has certainly piqued our interest.
First, it’s aimed at women, so it’s way more stylish that anything we’ve seen before. The Oura 3 isn’t a bad-looking device, but it’s noticeable and chunky on the finger – and it’s harder for women to wear.
We'd need to see Movano Ring being worn to get a real sense of what the company has achieved in terms of design, but the incomplete loop looks way more interesting than some other rivals.
The Movano Ring will measure heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, respiration rate, temperature and blood oxygen.
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.
